Rifugio Roberto Bignami

Rifugio Roberto Bignami (commonly Rifugio Bignami, German Bignamihütte) is an alpine mountain hut in the Italian region of Lombardy, in the Bernina Alps. It sits at an elevation of 2,401 m within the municipality of Lanzada, on a knoll in the Alpe Fellaria locality, and is a stage on the Alta Via della Valmalenco. The hut is owned by the Milan section of the Club Alpino Italiano (CAI Milano) and is operated by the rifugista Giovanni Tavernaro together with his wife Francesca, who have been the managers since 2021. It is open on weekends from 25 April to 30 September and daily from 15 June to 15 September, offering 70 sleeping places for mountaineers and a restaurant service. The hut is named after Roberto Bignami, an Italian alpinist and CAI Milano councillor who died in 1954 during the Italian expedition to Monte Api (7,132 m) in the Garhwal Himalaya. It was built in 1955/56 and donated by Clementina Agretti-Bignami to the CAI Milano section in memory of her son. From summer 2025 the hut offers three eco-sustainable Norwegian-style small rooms heated by solar gain. The panorama from the hut takes in the peaks of the Bernina group.

Rifugio Roberto Bignami was built in 1955/56 and donated by Clementina Agretti-Bignami to the Milan section of the Club Alpino Italiano (CAI Milano), which remains its owner. The hut was named in memory of her son Roberto Bignami, a councillor of the CAI Milano section who lost his life in 1954 during the Italian expedition to Monte Api (7,132 m) in the Garhwal Himalaya. The hut stands at 2,401 m in the Bernina Alps, within the municipality of Lanzada in the Province of Sondrio, Lombardy, on a knoll at the Alpe Fellaria locality, and serves as a stage on the Alta Via della Valmalenco. It is managed by the rifugista Giovanni Tavernaro and his wife Francesca, who have been the managers since 2021. They come from San Martino di Castrozza in Trentino and bring consolidated experience from running the family's Malga Civertaghe, founded by grandfather Giovanni in 1905 and one of the oldest malghe in Trentino. The hut is open on weekends from 25 April to 30 September and daily from 15 June to 15 September, and offers 70 sleeping places for mountaineers as well as restaurant service. From summer 2025 the hut added three eco-sustainable Norwegian-style small rooms, heated by solar gain captured by the outer surface during the day and released as temperatures fall.

• 2025

  From summer 2025 the hut offers three eco-sustainable Norwegian-style rooms heated by solar gain.

• 2021

  Giovanni Tavernaro and his wife Francesca become the managers (rifugisti) of the hut.

• 1956

  The hut is built in 1955/56 and donated by Clementina Agretti-Bignami to CAI Milano in memory of her son.

• 1954

  Roberto Bignami, CAI Milano councillor, dies during the Italian expedition to Monte Api (7,132 m) in the Garhwal Himalaya.

Alpine mountain hut owned by CAI Milano, serving mountaineers and hikers in the Bernina Alps and on the Alta Via della Valmalenco.

• Overnight accommodation (70 beds)

• Restaurant service

• Eco-sustainable Norwegian-style rooms (from summer 2025)

1. 1Rifugio Bignami | Valmalencorifugiobignami.it
2. 2Rifugio Roberto Bignamiwikidata.org
3. 3Rifugio Roberto Bignamide.wikipedia.org